


RWBY: Signer Saga

by Nijad



Category: RWBY, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Duel Monsters, Card Gays on Motorcycles, Crossover, F/F, F/M, Follow's RWBY's plot, Slow Burn, other characters to be added - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-05-01
Packaged: 2018-10-20 06:18:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10656669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nijad/pseuds/Nijad
Summary: In a world without aura, semblances, or grimm, Duel Monsters is the premier, both in combat and in sport, and even in day to day enjoyment. Ruby Rose and her sister are up and coming professionals, aiming to become duel huntresses like their parents. However, life is never that simple...After 5,000 years, an ancient prophecy is unfurling, with four girls at its center. Will they conquer the evil that is surrounding them? Or will the dark Gods within the earth be unsealed once more? How will Destiny change?A re-imagining of RWBY's story, with the myths and elements of Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's replacing its standard combat elements.





	1. This Will Be The Day! Accel Synchron!

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is a weird one ain't it? This is an idea I've had for awhile, and I'm finally giving it a shot. A few notes:
> 
> This is following RWBY's plot more than 5D's, with some large changes to streamline the plot and cut out alot of the fat, replacing it with some lore or more character building. Don't expect a 3 chapter 'Jaune gets bullied' arc here.
> 
> This work will feature custom cards, but I won't go overboard with them. Additionally, if I create a card for a chapter, it's full notation will be available in the end of chapter notes. If a card's not there, it's real, and you can look it up.
> 
> Thanks, and enjoy!

It was nighttime, and Vale’s streets were as silent as they could be, cars buzzing up and down the road and all. Still, this late at night, it was unusual to hear as many sets of footsteps as could be heard outside the small card shop “From Duston til Dawn”, who’s pun-laden name was the destination of the band of similarly dressed men that walked into the door. The small, balding man behind the counter immediately tensed, as a red-haired man in a white suit and a bowler hat, smoking a cigar, walked up to the counter. He dusted off his cigar onto the floor.

“Do you have  _ any _ idea how hard it is to find a card shop open this late?” the man said, before the several men around him drew guns and pointed them at the clerk.

“I-I’ll give you my money, just leave me alone!” the worried clerk stammered.

The boss just chuckled. “We’re not here for your money,” he said, beckoning his men. “Grab the cards.” 

The men opened boxed, piling in sealed card packs and loose bulk into their containers. Men with cushioned cases opened them on the countertops, loading the rarer cards into them. One of the goons ventured to the back of the store, only to find a hooded girl in the back, browsing magazines. She had a wide, frilled, ballerina like skirt of black and red fabric, which contradicted the thick military boots on her feet. Most mystifying of all was the long, red cloak that was draped over her shoulders. The goon walked up, and pointed his gun at her. “Hey, put your hands behind your head!” The girl ignored him, and he repeated his words, more frustrated. After being ignored again, he grunted, and jerked the girl around. She looked at him, silver eyes staring into his sunglasses.

“Huh?” she said, pulling the earphones off her head, loud rock music bleeding out of them.

“Put your hands behind your head!” the goon shouted.

“Are you… robbing me?” the girl said.

“Yeah!”

“Ooooooh…” The girl said, before her duel disk whirred to life.

Without warning, the shop’s windows were blown to pieces, several goons flying outward into the street amongst shattered glass and scattering petals that flowed with the winds. The girl had followed them out, and turned to the jingling door as the man in the suit haphazardly strapped the stolen goods onto his bike, before slapping his helmet on and speeding off. The girl ran to her own bike, slamming her disk into the console.

_ “Hello, Ruby!” _ the internal computer sang. 

“Not now, girl!” Ruby shouted at her bike. “Let’s go!”

The bike roared to life, before speeding after the robber. The white-suited man looked behind him, seeing the girl behind him, and quickly gaining.  _ Dammit,  _  he thought,  _ that bike is fast! I know what will slow her down, though _ . He grinned, before pushing a button on his console. The sides of his bike opened, and two halves of a duel disk slid upward and united, activating.

_ “Duel mode on: Autopilot standby _ ” the bike’s console said, before radiating a pulse. The pulse reached Ruby’s bike just as she caught him, cutting her accelerator and forcing her own disk to activate.

_ “Duel mode on: Autopilot standby _ ” her bike said, and she grimaced.  _ He forced a duel on me? _

“Heh, nice thinking, crook,” Ruby said, “My runner is slowed when forced into duel mode.” She pointed a finger at the robber. “You’ve just sealed your fate though! You won’t get away from me!”

“Who do you think I am kid, some thug?” The robber laughed. “I’ll show you what happens when some wannabe two-bit huntress kid messes with Roman Torchwick!”

“DUEL!” they both shouted, each gaining their 4000 LP, and drawing their five cards as their bikes automatically drove onto the street’s designated duel lane.

“The first move is mine!” Roman shouted. “I’ll normal summon Volcanic Rocket!” A skeletal, dragon-like rocket of red flesh and yellow bone manifested next to his bike, its engines allowing it to keep up with the pace. “This lets me add Blaze Accelerator to my hand,” he said, taking the spell and adding it to his hand. “I set a card face down, and end my turn. Show me what you can do, little red.”

“It’s my turn!” Ruby shouted, grimacing and drawing a card. “I’ll start with the field spell, Starlight Junktion!” She activated the card, and the environment speeding past them began to change in colour, and shimmer.

_ A Field Spell? _ Roman thought,  _ Maybe this will be interesting after all _ .

“Next, I’ll discard Level Eater, in order to summon the Tuner monster, Quickdraw Synchron from my hand!” As she summoned the monster, a small, cartoonish robot cowboy appeared beside her as she rode. “That’s not all! I’ll normal summon the Tuner monster, Glow-Up Bulb, and then use the effect of Starlight Junktion!” A small bulb with an eye nestled inside it appeared beside her, but quickly vanished. “Now I can summon any Synchron monster that isn’t level 1 from my deck. I summon Synchron Carrier!” A small repair-bot joined the cowboy. “Now, I use Level Eater’s effect, reducing Quickdraw’s level from 5 to 4, and summoning it from the graveyard!” A small beetle, shaped like the level-star of a monster, appeared. “Further, I use Glow-Up’s effect! By sending the top card of my deck to the graveyard, it also returns!” The bulb returned to the field, alongside the beetle. “The Level four Quickdraw Synchron tunes the level 1 Level Eater!”

“This runt can  _ Synchro Summon _ ?” Roman said, aghast at the possibility.

_ "Clustering stars will call upon a new fighter! Become the path its light shines upon! Synchro Summon! Show yourself, Junk Warrior!"  _ A large, purple robot with bright red eyes, yellow wings, and a tan scarf emerged from the pillar of light the Synchro Summon invoked. It’s right arm was bigger than its left, and sported a knuckle duster. “Synchron Carrier’s effect activates! Since I used a Synchron monster to Synchro Summon, it summons a “Synchron Token” in defense mode. Then, Junk Warrior’s effect activates! It gains the combined ATK points of all level two or lower monsters I control. Synchron Token has 1000, and Glow-Up has 100. That’s 1100 extra ATK!  _ Power of Fellows! _ ” An aura began to flow around Junk Warrior, as his ATK rose from its natural 2300 to 3400. “Now, the Level 1 Glow-Up Bulb tunes the Level 2 Synchron Carrier and Synchron Token!”

_ Successive Synchro Summons? _ Roman thought.  _ Who IS this runt? _

_ “Clustering stars charge forward at the speed of sound! Become the path that lights the way! Synchro Summon! Rev it up, Accel Synchron! _ ” A robot that looked like Ruby’s bike that had grown arms, legs, and a head began to fly alongside Junk Warrior. “Here’s the big one! I equip the spell Over-Resonate to Accel Synchron! This gives it ATK points equal to its level times 400!” An aura enveloped Accel Syncrhon, bringing its ATK up to 2500. “Take this! Junk Warrior attacks Volcanic Rocket!  _ Scrap Fist! _ ” The jets on Junk Warrior revved to life, and he shot forward, obliterating the Rocket and dealing 1500 damage, bringing Roman down to 2500 LP. “This’ll end it! Accel Synchron, attack him directly!” Accel Synchron charged at Roman’s bike, and the criminal just smirked.

“I activate my trap, Firewall! While it’s face up, I can banish a Pyro monster from my graveyard to negate your attack!” An image of Volcanic Rocket appeared, before incinerating itself to block Accel Synchron’s charge. 

Ruby humpfed, her eyes narrowing. “I use Accel Sycnhron’s effect. By sending Steam Synchron from my deck to the graveyard, I can reduce its level to 2. This reduces the bonus of Over-Resonate. I set one card, and end my turn.”

“A decent show red, but looks like your little vigilante effort was for nothing. My turn!” He drew a card, and smiled. “I pay 500 LP to keep Firewall active.” A small flame burnt him, lowering his LP to 2000. “Next, I activate Blaze Accelerator, then send it to the graveyard in order to activate Tri-Blaze Accelerator!” A three-barreled cannon appeared on the back of Roman’s motorcycle. “This lets me send a Pyro-type monster from my hand to the graveyard to destroy one monster you control, and deal 500 damage. I send Volcanic Scattershot to the graveyard, and take aim at Junk Warrior!” A small, red scaled lizard appeared loaded into one of the cannon’s barrels, which pointed at Junk Warrior. “Fire!”

“You won’t hit anything!” Ruby said.

“And why’s that?” Roman countered.

“Because,” Ruby continued, a smirk forming, “he won’t be there to blow up! I activate Accel Synchron’s effect! Using it as a tuner, I can Synchro Summon during your turn!”

“ _ What? _ ” Roman shouted.

“The level 2 Accel Synchron tunes the level 5 Junk Warrior!” Ruby closed her eyes, as a giant pillar of light appeared beside her. “ _ Red like roses fills my dreams! Your legacy grows as its power blooms once more! Accel Synchro! Come on, Black Rose Dragon! _ ” The pillar of light dispersed, and a giant dragon loomed over the entire highway, its wings made of crimson petals, and its scales a shining black. It roared as it took flight, the noise echoing for blocks in every direction. “Now, the effect of Starlight Junktion! Whenever I Synchro Summon during your turn, I can shuffle one card on the field into the deck! I choose Firewall!” The streets shimmered bright, and the trap that floated next to Roman vanished. 

Roman grimaced. “You dodged one shot, but how about three? I use Scattershot’s effect! By loading two more Scattershots from my deck, I can destroy all monsters you control, and deal 1500 damage. That’s 2000 total damage! Say goodbye to your dragon!  _ Infernal Mortar! _ ” The three cannons all pointed up, and rained down towards the dragon. 

“I activate my trap! Follow Wing!” A trap flipped up next to Ruby, and a second, golden pair of wings appeared on Black Rose Dragon’s back. “This card equips to a Synchro monster, and prevents it from being destroyed by battle or by card effect!”

“You’ll still take the damage, though!” Roman shouted, as the fiery mortar rained down on Ruby, and she shouted as her LP dropped to 2000. “And that’s not the end of it. You’re safe from Tri-Blaze’s destruction, but not the damage! I send Volcanic Shell from my hand to the graveyard, and fire!” Another blast dropped Ruby to 1500 LP. “What’s more, I can pay 500 LP when Volcanic Shell is sent to the graveyard, and add another to my hand. I pay the LP, load, and fire again!” Roman dropped to 1500 LP, as another burning shot lowered Ruby to 1000. “And again! Fire!” Roman fell to 1000, as one last shot nearly spun Ruby out and lowered her to 500 LP. 

Ruby recovered, and sped up her bike to catch back up to Roman. “But now what?” she shouted. “You’ve got no more shots to fire!”

"Oh, how  _ little _ you know,” Roman said with a smile. “I send Tri-Blaze Accelerator to the graveyard, in order to summon Volcanic Doomfire!” The cannon on the back of his bike disappeared, and in its place appeared a goliath, burning giant with a fiery, dragon-like head.

“What does that matter?” Ruby said. “You can’t attack the turn you activate the effect of a Blaze Accelerator card.”

“I don’t need to. Volcanic Doomfire makes all monsters you control attack it during your turn. Doomfire has 3000 ATK, and your dragon only has 2400. Next turn, you’ll just defeat yourself!” Roman laughed. “I set one card, and end my turn!”

“That’s fine with me! My turn!” Ruby said drawing a card.

“When your turn starts, I activate my trap! Backfire!” The trap flipped up next to Roman’s bike. “You think I’m dumb? Follow Wing’s effect destroys a level 5 or higher monster the equipped monster battles before damage calculation, and lets it attack again right through. With Backfire, however, when Doomfire is destroyed by a card effect, you’ll take 500 damage!” Roman laughed again. “You can’t destroy Doomfire!”

“That’s fine,” Ruby said, “Because I’m gonna go straight through it!”

“What?” Roman asked, confusedly.

“I activate the effect of a monster in my graveyard! By banishing the A/D Changer that was sent to my graveyard by the effect of Glow-Up Bulb, It changes Volcanic Doomfire to DEF position!” The giant monster roared before crouching down, crossing its arms in a defensive pose.

“So what?” Roman said. “You’re just stalling. I can still beat you next turn!” He looked ahead, spying a helicopter approaching them, and smirked. “This duel is still mine!”

Ruby smirked. “Black Rose Dragon’s effect! By banishing a plant-type monster from my graveyard, it changes Doomfire back to ATK position, and lowers its ATK to zero!”

“ _ What!?” _ Roman shouted, as Doomfire rose back to full height.  _ No,  _ he thought _ , if she attacks, Backfire won’t activate! I’ll lose! _

“Black Rose Dragon, attack Doomfire!  _ Crescent Rose! _ ”

Black Rose Dragon built up fire in its mouth, lowering it before flicking its head upward as it spewed flame in a crescent shape at Doomfire. The explosion demolished Doomfire, reducing Roman’s LP to zero and spinning him out, the burglar tumbling off his bike and landing up against the side of a building at the end of the road.

Ruby veered her bike to the side, squealing to a halt in front of Roman in time to hear the blades of a rapidly descending helicopter. She revved her engine back up and sped away from the landing zone as gunfire hailed from the chopper. Goons hopped off, helping Roman onto the chopper and loading his bike and the stolen goods while Ruby watched from afar. Just as she contemplated entering the fray again, another runner’s engine roared as a bike lept over her head and landed in front of her. The blonde, spectacled older woman on the bike took a card and played it onto the runner’s disk as the helicopter rose to the sky.

“Spellbook of Power!” she shouted, as a red, glowing tome appeared in front of her bike and shot a beam at the helicopter. As it neared the chopper, a woman walked out to the side door, and with her own disk, activated a card to block the beam, before casting a fireball of her own at the woman. The woman on the ground in turn played another card to stop it.

“Spellbook of Wisdom!” she shouted, and a green tome manifested and opened, the book’s pages stopping the fireball in its tracks. As the smoke cleared, the helicopter sped off, both girls on the ground losing it completely. The older woman grunted and shook her head, before Ruby walked over to her.

“You’re… a duel huntress…” she said, her eyes lighting up. “ _ Can I have your autograph? _ ”

*****

“I hope you realized your actions will  _ not _ be taken lightly young lady!”

Ruby sat pouting in an interrogation cubicle at the local police station, the duel huntress, who had revealed herself as Glynda Goodwitch, pacing back and forth as she scolded her.

“Dueling without a liscence, property damage, endangering civilian lives, and that’s not to mention the high speed  _ riding duel _ held without approval against known mob boss Roman Torchwick, regardless if you beat him. Were it up to me, you’d be sent home, with a pat on the back,” she said, her tone lightening and Ruby’s eyes brightening, until she slammed the file she held onto the desk, “and a slap on the wrist.” Ruby jumped, startled between the slammed file and her tone returning to the consistent sternness she’d been hearing what felt like all night. “But, as it turns out, someone wants to see you.”

She walked out, and walking in was a tall man in a black sweater and green scarf. Small, black sunglasses sat on his nose, and short white hair messily sat atop his head. He set a plate of cookies in front of Ruby, as he fiddled with the tablet in his hand before looking at her. “Ruby Rose,” he said, leaning in to look at her. “You have… silver eyes…”

“Y-yeah…” Ruby said nervously, before beginning to devour cookies to distract herself.

“So,” the tall man started, “where did you learn how to duel like this?” He pulled up footage of her duel, particularly of her use of Accel Synchron.

“Uh… Signal Duel Academy?” Ruby replied.

“They taught you how to use one of the rarest and most complex summoning mechanics in existence?”

“Well,” Ruby said, trying as hard as she could to not make eye contact, “one teacher in particular.”

“Really,” the man said, “because I’ve only ever seen two men ever use those kind of monsters before.”

“That’s my dad and my uncle,” Ruby said. “Dad Synchro Summons during the opponent’s turn, and my uncle uses Synchro Tuners, so I combined them!”

“Really…” the man said. “Ruby, do you know who I am?”

“You’re Director Ozpin,” Ruby said, “head of the Public Maintenance Bureau.”

“Ruby,” Ozpin said, “Do you want to be a duel huntress?”

“More than anything,” Ruby said, finally making eye contact.

“Well, the Beacon Cup is starting next week. In order to become a duel huntress, you need either a sponsorship from a congress member, or personal approval from the Director himself.” He pulled an envelope with the Public Maintenance Bureau’s logo sealing it out of his jacket, and slid it across the table. “This is the invitation for the last Wildcard spot. You do well enough there, you may earn both of those things.”

Ozpin left her alone in the room, and Ruby looked at the envelope for a solid minute, before jumping into the air.

  
“Yes!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Custom Cards featured this chapter:
> 
> Over-Resonate  
> Equip Spell Card  
> Equip only to a Synchro Monster. The Equipped monster gains ATK equal to its level x400


	2. The King's Dragon! Red Dragon Archfiend!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The King appears, and so does the King's Dragon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in as many days? I was motivated, and had fun writing it. Hope you enjoy it!

Ruby sighed as she reached the bottom of one of Vale’s many highrises, driving her bike around to the back of the building to reach the freight elevator there. She needed the elevator to get her and her bike up to her’s and her sister’s home on the top floor. She took her disk off the bike, retracting it into its compact bracelet mode before wheeling the bike into the elevator, and hitting the PH button to make it lurch to life, zooming up 115 floors to the top of Vale’s tallest highrise, King’s Tower.

King’s Tower used to be named something else, something to do with that Schnee Duel Company, Ruby thought, but it had it’s name changed when it came to light that the mysterious masked duelist the King lived on the top floor. After that, it was always called King’s Tower, and once the King took the Beacon Cup 2 years ago, it was renamed by the owner to generate more publicity and tenants. Even after the King lost the title last year, the tower’s fame, and the titular King at the top consistently dueling challengers on a channel tenants can watch, make this an expensive and sought after residential. One could argue it was wrong to make money off of someone else’s success, but noone could care less than the King himself.

Or, in reality,  _ her _ self

The King had always dueled in full, golden plate armour, featureless aside from a small, red painting of wings on their right forearm. The King didn’t call themself that, rather, it was given to them after the crowd began to chant the name after their first victory in the circuit. After that, the King’s dueling became legendary; a duelist who, in an era of Synchro, Xyz, and even Fusion and Pendulum summoning, didn’t rely on their extra deck; their massive beasts in the main deck more than enough to topple any foe, and their ace monster, the lone, fearsome monster in their extra deck, inspired awe, and fear. The King tore their way through the circuit, until revealing their age as being merely 17 when they entered the Beacon Cup, an event exclusively open to teenage duelists, professional or otherwise. Their route to victory was swift, and once they earned the title of champion, they removed their mask, and revealed the twist; the King was a 17 year old girl.

One named Yang Xiao Long, daughter of famed tag duelist Taiyang Xiao Long.

Immediately, the press swarmed her, the questions as varied as they were numerous. One trait was common, however, that being that her title of King was being replaced with Queen. Numerous sponsors appeared, wanting her to change her suit to appear more feminine, to play up her attractiveness, to play a deck less ‘masculine and brutish’. Yang quickly shut all of this down, foregoing all of those deals, saying “The King’s dueling didn’t change when I took of the mask, and neither did the person. So, why’re all of you expecting me to now?”

There was a swift and immediate change of tone, and Yang immediately commanded respect as the Duel King of the youth. Strong and driven, she remained undefeated, until the next year, where a duelist from the city of Mistral named Pyrrha Nikos dethroned Yang. Yang took the defeat with glee, saying “Now that I’m not at the top anymore, I’ve got something to chase after other than the stars again!” Tabloids played up their rivalry, and their numerous rematches created incredible buzz, but in reality, the two had become close friends, often talking and visiting whenever they dueled, and for awhile after. Some other magazines even speculated between a secret romance between the two, which both refuted, but in a tone joking enough to make people wonder.

Ruby snapped back to the present as the elevator stopped moving, but the door did not open. Ruby fished a small key with a flame-shaped chain on it out of her pocket, placing it into the slot and twisting it. The door opened to the Penthouse, and Ruby wheeled her bike out of it.

Rather than a standard Penthouse suite, the King’s Tower Penthouse was an actual house, sat atop the building and overlooking the city. The place was absurdly expensive to rent, but was actually owned by Yang, a deal long ago when the owner would do anything to keep her there. Ruby wheeled her bike into the garage, the bright red vehicle resting next to her sister’s under it’s protective tarp. Sometimes, Ruby wondered if Yang loved that bike more than actually dueling on it.

Ruby walked over to the front door, shoving it open. “Yang, I’m-” Ruby cut herself off with an  _ eep _ as she noticed Yang standing just behind the door, her arms folded, a stern look on her face. “-home…” she finished quietly.

“You smell like a police station,” Yang said, narrowing her eyes. Ruby looked at her as she tried to think of a response. Yang’s long, curly blonde hair was hanging freely, and she was dressed rather casually, a tank and shorts along with her usual boots and small jacket. She wore a pair of compact yellow bracers on her wrists, and her birthmark, a strangely symmetrical red mark that resembled a pair of wings on her right forearm, was fully in view as she sternly crossed her arms at Ruby.

“Yeah, I… uh…” Ruby stammered, “ _ might _ have Riding Dueled the head of a crime syndicate in the middle of Vale.” When Yang’s eyes went wide, Ruby put her hands up. “Wait! I was only brought in for questioning. I even talked to the Director.”

“Ozpin?” Yang said, tilting her head slightly. “What did he say?”

Ruby remained silent as she pulled the invitation to the Beacon Cup out of her jacket pocket, holding it up. “He gave me the last wildcard spot in the Beacon Cup.”

Yang was silent for a moment, before she pulled Ruby into a giant bear hug. “Oh, I’m so proud of you!”

“ _ Please….stop…. _ ” Ruby choked out, Yang releasing her as she breathed. “I thought you’d be more mad.”

“I’m just happy my baby sister is gonna go to the Beacon Cup with me!” Yang said, raising her arms in celebration. “I’m so excited! We  _ have _ to celebrate!”

“How?” Ruby said.

“With a duel, silly!” Yang said. “C’mon!”

“ _ Yaaaaaaang _ ,” Ruby protested, “I already dueled today!”

“It won’t be a Riding Duel,” Yang said. “C’mon, I’ll even broadcast it! You’ll be a star.”

Ruby opened her mouth to retort again, but sighed in defeat. She knew once Yang got in the dueling mood, there wasn’t anything that could pull her out of it. “Okay, let’s go.”

Yang cheered in delight. “Alright! C’mon, to the arena! My birthmark’s itching!”

Ruby followed Yang into the manor’s elevator, which brought them to the duel arena on the roof of the manor. The overhead floodlights snapped on once they walked into the area. They each took their positions at either side of the arena, as Yang grinned.

“This one’s being broadcasted to the King’s Network, so look alive, sis!” Yang shouted, before slamming her fists together in front of her. The action activated the yellow bracelets on her wrists, each one unfolding into half a disk, the left arm having three panels and the right arm having two. 

Ruby raised her right hand in front of her, before folding it across her chest. As she did, her own red bracelet came to life, and a red, scythe-like duel disk expanded out of it. “I plan to!”

“DUEL!” The girls shouted, drawing their starting hands.

“Little Sister goes first!” Ruby shouted.

“Better use it wisely,” Yang said with a smirk, “it’s one of two turns you’re going to get!”

Ruby stuck her tongue out at Yang “I activate the spell card, One for One! By sending a monster from my hand to the graveyard, I can summon a level 1 monster from my deck. I summon Tuningware!” A tiny robot with a wok on its head appeared. “Next, I summon Junk Synchron!” Another small robot, this one in spectacles and a silly looking orange hat, appeared next to the smaller one. “Junk Synchron’s effect summons a level two or lower monster from my graveyard. I summon Synchron Explorer from my graveyard.” A rather rotund crimson robot appeared next to the other two. “The level 3 Junk Synchron tunes the level 1 Tuningware and the level 2 Synchron Explorer!  _ Synchro Summon! Hold the line, Junk Gardna! _ ” A goliath robot with large, green plate armour landed with a thud, before raising its large arms in DEF position. “When Tuningware is used for a Synchro Summon, I draw one card!” Ruby drew a card, adding it to her hand. “I set one card, and end my turn.”

“Not bad sis,” Yang said. “I can see how you sent that mob boss running scared.” She grinned wide. “Let’s see some more of that! My turn!” she shouted, drawing a card, grinning when she looked at it. “I activate the field spell, Lost World!” All around them, giant prehistoric trees and plants bloomed, and a large volcano raised behind Yang. “While Lost World is active, any monster that’s not Dinosaur-type loses 500 ATK and DEF points.”

“Oh, right,” Ruby said, pouting as Junk Gardna’s DEF lowered from 2600 to 2100.

“Yep!, now, I normal summon Souleating Oviraptor!” A large blue Oviraptor with bright blue fire roaring down its spine appeared roaring as it did. “Lost World’s effect activates! When I summon a Dinosaur type monster, a Juraegg Token is summoned to your side of the field in DEF position.” A small, brown egg with yellow spots appeared next to Junk Gardna. “Then, Souleating Oviraptor’s effect activates! I choose a Dinosaur from my deck, and either add it to my hand, or send it to the graveyard. I send Megalosmasher X to the graveyard.” Yang withdrew a monster from her deck, and slid it into her graveyard. “Now, Souleating Oviraptor’s other effect. By destroying a Dinosaur monster on either side of the field, I can summon Megalosmasher X from my graveyard. I destroy the Juraegg Token on your side of the field!” The Oviraptor roared again, before spitting a blast of azure fire at the egg. “At this moment, Lost World’s effect activates! I can destroy a Dinosaur in my deck instead of a normal monster on the  field. I destroy the Petiteranodon in my deck, and the egg survives.” The fire dissipated, and the egg remained untouched. “Now, revive, Megalosmasher X!” A titanic, fishlike dinosaur appeared, roaring with it’s wide jaws. “Finally, Petiteranodon’s effect activates. Because it was destroyed, I can special summon a Dinosaur from my deck. I summon the Super Conductor Tyranno!” An enormous green dinosaur covered in metal plating and purple spheres emerged. It crackled with electricity, and when it roared, Ruby felt a slight tingle in the air from the latent static electricity.

“Wow, they don’t call you the King for nothing, huh sis?” Ruby said, staring at the 3 giant dinosaurs opposite her. 

“Damn straight,” Yang said, beating her right arm across her chest, showing her birthmark. “A monster summoned by Petiteranodon can’t attack this turn, but I can still use its effect. By tributing a Dinosaur monster, you take 1000 damage! I tribute Megalosmasher X!  _ Jurassic Spark! _ ” Super Conductor Tyranno absorbed the large beast, before loosing a bolt of electricity that shocked Ruby, and reduced her LP down to 3000. “You played smart. You knew my deck couldn’t summon anything with more than 2000 ATK that could attack, so you summoned something that would have higher DEF than that, even under Lost World.” Yang smiled again. “I set one card, and end my turn. C’mon Rubes, show me what you’ve got!”

Ruby shook her head, bringing herself back into the present. “My turn!” Ruby said, drawing a card. “I activate Festival Spinning! I take two field spells from my deck, and set them on either side of the field.” The prehistoric scenery around them disappeared, and two face down cards manifested next to the girls. “This destroys Lost World, and prevents either of us from activating Field Spells until both of these cards are removed from the field.”

“Y’know, a simple Mystical Space Typhoon would have sufficed,” Yang said. “Then again, a duel without your theatrics isn’t a duel, really.”

Ruby stuck her tongue out again. “I activate De-Synchro! By returning Junk Gardna to my deck, all it’s Synchro material monsters return to the field!” Junk Gardna vanished, and all 3 of the monsters used to summon it reappeared. “Junk Synchron Tunes Synchron Explorer and Tuningware again! This time, Tuningware’s other effect activates! It can be treated as a level 2 monster for a Synchro Summon!” The small, wok wearing robot grew in size slightly, before ascending with the other robots. “ _ Clustering anger brings with it a warrior from Hell itself! Become the path that lights the way! Synchro Summon! Howl, Junk Berserker! _ ” A titanic, demonic-looking robot with red armour and a giant axe in its hand appeared. “Tuningware’s effect activates! I draw a card!” Ruby drew a card, then pointed at Yang. “Junk Berserker’s effect! By banishing the Junk Synchron in my graveyard, one of your monsters loses ATK equal to Junk Synchron’s! I target Super Conductor Tyranno!  _ Berserker Rage! _ ” Super Conductor Tyranno howled as its ATK was lowered from 3300 to 2000. “Now, Junk Berserker, attack Super Conductor Tyranno!  _ Extreme Victory! _ ”

Yang grinned yet again. “It won’t be that easy, sis! I activate my trap, Survival of the Fittest! Tyranno gains 1000 ATK! That makes it have 3000 ATK, more than Berserker’s 2700!” The giant dinosaur roared, catching Junk Berserker’s axe in its mouth and slamming the beast into the ground, destroying it and dealing 300 further damage to Ruby.

Ruby huffed. “I activate my trap, Miracle’s Wake! This summons a monster destroyed by battle this turn. Revive, Junk Berserker!” A hole opened in the Earth, and Junk Berserker lept out of it, landing with a thud and a roar. “Go, attack Souleating Oviraptor!” Junk Berserker brought it’s enormous axe down on the dinosaur, cleaving it in two and reducing Yang’s LP to 3100. “Then, I use Magical Stone Excavation! By discarding 2 cards, I add a spell card back to my hand from the graveyard! I add back, then use De-Synchro! I split Junk Berserker back into its components, in DEF mode!” The three robots replaced the one large monster, all crouched down into defensive stances.  _ Junk Gardna won’t stop her if she summons another huge Dinosaur _ , Ruby thought. _ I can survive until next turn, unless… wait… oh no… _

“My turn!” Yang shouted, drawing a card. “Like I said, kiddo, 2 turns!”

“You don’t mean…” Ruby said, silver eyes going wide.

“I summon the tuner monster, Masked Chameleon!” A mask appeared in front of Yang, with a chameleon fading in behind it. “When Masked Chameleon is summoned, it summons a monster with 0 DEF from my Graveyard! Revive, Megalosmasher X!” The giant dinosaur reemerged, roaring again. Yang grinned wide, and her eyes turned from violet to a deep crimson. “This is the King’s Dueling! The level 4 Masked Chameleon tunes the level 4 Megalosmasher X!”

_ Oh no, _ Ruby thought,  _ here it comes... _

“ _ Bear Witness! Heaven and Earth tremble, as the King of all Monsters emerges! Synchro Summon! My very soul, Red Dragon Archfiend! _ ” A large, black and red dragon with curved horns, clawed hands, and giant wings appeared, before roaring at Ruby. “Battle! Red Dragon Archfiend attacks Junk Synchron! At this time, its effect activates! When it attacks a defense position monster, all defense position monsters you control are destroyed!  _ Ember Celica! _ ” Red Dragon Archfiend gathered flames in its hand, before slamming it into the ground. A wave of fire blazed from the impact, obliterating all of Ruby’s monsters. “Now, Super Conductor Tyranno, attack directly!  _ Triassic Thunder! _ ” Super Conductor Tyranno gathered energy, before bellowing a bolt of lighting at Ruby, eradicating the rest of her LP in one shot. Ruby fell backward, picking herself up and dusting off her skirt.

“Jeez, no mercy for your little sister?” Ruby said, her tone pleading in a joking way.

Yang smiled, before adopting a comically stern face with a huge frown. “The King does not show mercy, even to their greatest ally! I rule with a resolve as iron as my fist!” There was a pause, and both girls fell into giggles, Yang doubling over in laughter. “God, can you imagine if I was always like that?”

Ruby wiped tears from her eyes. “Oh come on, the King is fun!”

“Fun, and stupid,” Yang said, throwing her arm over Ruby’s shoulders. “C’mon, there’s cookies in the kitchen!”

Yang hadn’t even finished the sentence before Ruby bolted, leaving her alone, and chuckling. She shook her head, thinking about the tournament on the horizon, and the potential rematch.

  
_ Next week, _ she thought, _ the King’s gonna take her throne back _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those that may be confused as to why Yang plays dinosaurs, it is, unironically, a pun. Xiao Long roughly means "Little Dragon", and what are dinosaurs but little dragons? Dont kill me please.
> 
> Also, there won't be a duel every chapter, so don't worry if you're afraid they'll get stale or bog the fic down.


	3. Heiress to the Empire! Stardust Dragon!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Schnee heiress trains for the Beacon Cup

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm feeling inspired!
> 
> This chap's a bit shorter than the other 2, but that's by design. This one, and the next one, are introductory chapters meant to establish the characters. That does mean they're coming faster though, so stay tuned for another chapter soonish. Enjoy!
> 
> Also note: This chapter's got some nasty abuse theming in it, so discretion is advised.

The stark white, large room was filled with the clicking of heeled shoes as a young woman walked into it. The girl had sheer white hair, tied up in a ponytail that was slightly off-center. She wore a white coat over her pale grey dress, all delicately frilled, with a red interior. Her eyes were a sharp blue, her left having a relatively fresh scar slashing over it. Her last duel in this training room hadn’t gone well, the pain in her eye lingering, among other places. But she held firm in her posture. The heiress to the Schnee Duel Company could not show weakness, even in training.

The Schnee Duel Company was the largest company on the planet, being responsible for everything dueling related. The company had absorbed both Kaiba Corp. and Industrial Illusions in hostile takeovers, now dominating the market as the sole producer for cards and hardware needed for dueling. The CEO of the company, the infamous and loathed Jacques Schnee, was hyper protective of “his” intellectual property, and this tyrannical monopoly is usually what is considered to be the biggest hinderance for Duel Monster’s growth. Fortunately, as most people consider, Jacques was ill, and nearing the end of his life.

Fortunately for everyone but his daughter, Weiss.

Weiss was born just after Jacques fell ill, and was groomed from birth to succeed him after the, as Jacques would say,  _ unfortunate _ scenario with her older sister. Weiss was the chosen successor, and that meant meeting standards, which meant sometimes failing, which meant punishments.

It was okay, Weiss had always prefered long sleeves regardless.

Weiss glanced up at the window, seeing her father and a few assistants manning the machines. They pressed a few buttons on their panels, and the gate at the other end opened. From it exited one of her father’s familiar Knightbots, around fifteen feet tall and having a gargantuan, sword shaped disk.

“Weiss, this duel will be using Real Solid Vision again, so be careful,” One of the assistants said. “You can begin at your leisure.”

Weiss held back a sigh at the news. It was so much like her father to do this. She was fresh from the infirmary after a serious injury from another duel a week ago, most of her abdomen still bandaged from the encounter. She ignored the minute pain and fear, and pressed a switch on her necklace. The large jewel on it began to shine, and a traditional duel field was projected in front of her, a deck slot popping up. She withdrew her deck, placing it into the slot, which automatically shuffled it.

“DUEL!” She shouted, drawing her starting hand with the silent robot.

“I’m first, as always,” Weiss said. “I normal summon the Tuner monster Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier!” A muscular, bearded man in a brown hood and ornate yet disheveled monk’s robes appeared in front of Weiss. “I then activate Ties of the Brethren! By paying 2000 life points, I can summon 2 monsters from my deck with the same type, level, and attribute as a monster I control. Come, Prior of the Ice Barrier!” Another bearded man, this one older and fairer skinned, with a long staff and more formal, hooded robes appeared. “And Secret Guards of the Ice Barrier!” A thin, muscular woman in a small, blue, skintight top and cloth pants, with ornate standards flowing from her belt and longswords in each hand appeared. Both of the new monsters crouched down, assuming DEF position. “I set two cards, and end my turn.”

“Initializing turn: Draw Phase,” The Knightbot said, drawing a card. “Enter Main Phase. Activate spell card: Pot of Greed. Draw Two cards.” The Knightbot drew two cards, and the assistant next to Jacques turned to the CEO.

“Boss, what was that?” the assistant stammered. “Why does that bot have cards that strong? That card’s been illegal for years!”

“What point is there in training if it is not against the best possible opponent?” Jacques said, unflinching.

“She could get injured again! These bots are using Real Solid Vision! If the rest of its deck is of that level…”

Jacques grinned slightly. “I’d like to think she’s learned from last time, to get hurt again,” Jaques said, looking towards the still-healing scar over Weiss’ left eye.

“Initiate Normal Summon: Goblindbergh.” A small goblin in a biplane manifested in front of the Knightbot. “Initiate Effect Activation: Special Summon one monster from hand, then change to DEF mode.” Goblindbergh landed, and a light began to shine next to it. “Initialize Special Summon: Star Drawing.” A small, cartoon looking boy with a star-shaped wand appeared. “Initiate Overlay Sequence: Overlay Goblindbergh and Star Drawing.” The two monsters faded, before their auras flew into a manifesting galaxy in front of the Knightbot. “Xyz Summon: Zubaba General.” A goliath knight in pale blue and gold armour, decorated with spikes and horns, and a deep crimson cape manifested, resting its goliath blade on its shoulder.

_ An Xyz monster, of course _ , Weiss mentally scoffed.  _ Cryomancer prevents monsters that are level 4 or higher from attacking, but Xyz monsters don’t have levels, they have ranks. It bypasses my barrier.  _ She grinned.  _ Still, if this robot thinks this is enough to intimidate me- _

“Initiate Effect Activation: Detach one Overlay Unit, then equip Warrior-Type monster from hand to Zubaba General. Monster’s ATK is granted to equipped monster. Equip Gate Guardian from hand to Zubaba General.”

“ _ Jacques _ !” The assistant shouted, “that’s the Warrior with the most ATK in all of Duel Monsters! It’ll  _ kill _ her! Stop the duel!” 

Another assistant moved to press the kill switch, but Jaques raised his hand. “Stop!” The assistant halted, and Jacques turned to the security in the room. “Have this assistant terminated for acting out of line.” The guards nodded, before grabbing the assistant, and knocking him out before dragging him out of the room. Jacques turned to the other assistant, his glare able to freeze blood. “I take it you understand now?”

The assistant gulped and nodded, nervously watching as Zubaba General gained Gate Guardian’s 3750 ATK, having 5750 ATK. Weiss, however, maintained her composure, staring down the titanic monster.

“Initiate Attack: Destroy Cryomancer of the Ice Barrier.” The General hefted its enormous sword, and began a mighty swing at the Cryomancer, an attack that would end the duel.

“I activate my trap, Divine Shield of the Ice Barrier! When I would take damage that would end the duel, I negate the attack, then I draw 1 card for every Ice Barrier card on the field. Counting Barrier, there are 4, so I draw 4 cards!” A blue shield blocked the Knight’s assault, and Weiss drew 4 cards.

“Enter Main Phase 2. Set 4 Face-down cards. Enter End Phase.” The Knightbot gestured towards Weiss, signaling it was her turn.

“What are those set cards?” The assistant asked, fear prevalent in his tone.

“They’re 4 Traps. Mirror Force and Dark Mirror Force, which when she attacks will destroy all her monsters. Then, Imperial Order, which will negate any spell she uses. Lastly, there’s Return Soul. In case she gets through everything, Return Soul puts General and Gate Guardian back into the bot’s deck, so it can do it again.”

“How is Weiss supposed to get through that?”

Jacques’ grin widened. “She’s not. That’s the point of this test. If she can’t do the impossible, she can’t beat Pyrrha Nikos.”

Weiss chuckled at the machine’s chivalrous gesture, before regaining her stern composure. “It’s my turn!” She said, drawing a card. “I normal summon the Tuner monster Dewdark of the Ice Barrier!” A blonde ninja in maroon robes and a purple facescarf appeared, holding twin daggers. “The level 2 Dewdark tunes the level 2 Prior and the level 2 Secret Guards!  _ Shivering tempests howl as a great power is unsealed! Defend this place with all your divine might! Synchro Summon! Behold, Brionac, Dragon of the Ice Barrier! _ ” A long, twisting azure serpernt manifested, with a white, snowflake-like head and wide wings appeared, breathing heavily as vapor poured from its mouth. “Brionac’s effect! By discarding any number of cards, I can target the same number of cards you control, and return them to the hand. I discard 5 cards, to return Zubaba General and all 4 of your set cards!  _ Albedo Gale! _ ” Weiss sent her entire hand to the graveyard, and the giant knight and all 4 traps were caught in a whirlwind and vanished as the great serpent howled.

“She cleared it!” The assistant shouted.

“Yes, but she’s got nothing left,” Jacques said. “And she can’t finish it here. She’s done.”

“Battle!” Weiss shouted. “Brionac attacks directly!  _ Tundra Blitz! _ ” Brionac beat its wings, and a howling gale of frigid wind battered the Knightbot, reducing it’s LP to 1700. “I activate my other trap, Urgent Tuning! I perform a Synchro Summon right now, with monsters I control!”

Jacques’ brow furrowed, his smile vanishing.

“The level 2 Cryomancer tunes the level 6 Brionac!  _ All the lights in the sky are stars! Chase what lies ahead, and pierce through heaven itself! Synchro Summon! Fly, Stardust Dragon! _ ” A white, large dragon with long arms and legs, and blue muscles surrounded by white outer scales, and surrounded by huge white wings. It had a long, serpent-like neck, and at the end sat it’s head, a long, single spear-tipped horn protruding from it. “Stardust Dragon, attack directly! End this!  _ Myrtenaster! _ ”

A billowing torrent of white energy spewed from Stardust Dragon’s mouth, hitting the Knightbot and tearing it to pieces as its LP hit 0.

“Very good, Weiss,” Jacques said, his expression unflinching. “You are dismissed.”

Weiss nodded, and exited the way she came in, maintaining her posture and attitude all the way to her room. Once the door was shut, she collapsed onto her hands and knees, breathing heavily as she stopped suppressing the incredible pain. She crawled to the bed, managing to sit up and noticing a small tray on the desk, which held some painkillers and a glass of water, along with a note.

_ I thought these may come in handy. Stay strong, mistress. _

_ ~Klein _

Weiss smiled at the note, taking the medicine and laying back. Her mind shot forward a week, and to her trip to Vale for the Beacon Cup. She wondered how the possibility of winning would affect the other contestants.

To her, it wasn’t a possibility, it was a necessity. One she feared the consequences for if she failed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Custom Cards featured this chapter:
> 
> Divine Shield of the Ice Barrier  
> Normal Trap Card  
> If your opponent declares an attack that would reduce your LP to 0; negate that attack, and if you do draw 1 card for each "Ice Barrier" card on the field.
> 
> Also, bonus points to everyone guessing Weiss would be playing Ice Barrier. Though, to be fair, it's a logical connection. Just one girl is left, though...


	4. Girl on the Run! Fusion Summon!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A girl is on the run from her past, and a piece of it catches her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It would be a relatively short chapter I said, it's just an intro, I said.
> 
> Whatever, I tried to follow some feedback, and change up the pacing and show the character's thought processes and reactions more than just have them play though the turns in gargantuan paragraphs. Tell me what you think!

_ “Give me a turn!” he shouted, ending his turn.  _

_ “Got it!” she said, throwing everything she had at the drone, destroying its monsters and baiting its traps, before losing all of her LP to its retaliation. _

_ “Now!” she shouted, and he drew a card. _

_ “I use my trap! Backs to the Wall!” his field filled with monsters, all of which jumped on the drone and struck it at the same time, slashing it in two. After the explosion and the clearing dust, the man saw her standing on the next car up of the train. _

_ “Goodbye,” she said, before using her bladed disk to cleave the connector in two. He could do nothing but watch as she sped away. _

*****

Blake awoke with a start, feeling the sweat all over her. She sat up in her small bed, tossing the covers off and moving to the side of the bed.

She’d had the dream about  _ him _ again.

She looked around the small, single room studio she’d called home in Menagerie for the past few months. This island nation was her birthplace, but going home wasn’t an option. Not after what she’d done with the White Fang. A cold chill hit her, and the fine hair on her feline ears stood on end as the appendages laid back in reflex. She shivered, before standing up and shutting her window. It  _ was _ around time for her to leave anyway. She didn’t have to be on the boat until around nine, but she could at least get moving now. Perhaps she could even treat herself to a small breakfast at the market.

After a quick shower to rinse off the results of her nightmare, she began going through her drawers to pack and get dressed. She chose an outfit that would leave an impression, in case she ran into any of the other contenders today when she arrived. She put on a small black top that exposed her midriff and shoulders, and tight black pants with thigh high leather boots to match. She looked at the mirror, and seeing the landscape of scars on her body, opted to take her white duster off the coat rack and put it on. One completed outfit later, she was packing all of her clothes into her bag when she found something buried deep in one of the piles, something she had forgotten about on purpose.

A small mask, white with red markings on it, that would cover her eyes.

She sighed, hoping she wouldn’t have to think about the White Fang. For her, and every other Faunus her age, it was one of two things; a spear of hope and justice, or a blight on their race’s good name. For Blake, however, it had been both.

Blake was born into it, back when the leadership promoted equality and peace. Rallies and protests were polite, but dissenting. Their voices wanted to be heard, but they were falling on deaf ears. All it took was a change in leadership for that to change. Supply chain raids, assassinations, terrorism, and more began happening, and the White Fang turned from an organization advocating peace and equality, to one that used its dueling to pillage and kill in the name of Faunuskind. Blake had been a member for long enough to realize their true colours, and managed to get out. But not without cost.

She looked in the mirror, and saw the bright yellow streak running down the entire left side of her face, from the hairline of her forehead down over her eye and to the bottom of her chin, curving slightly as it traveled. A crime marker. A tattoo that denoted a convicted criminal, and contained GPS tracking to keep them in their sights, should it be needed. The larger the mark, the bigger the crime. 

Blake had the largest mark there was; murder.

She was found in the woods by hunters in Mistral after her escape, and brought to the police station. A girl in White Fang garb, just after a raided train exploded and 5 people died? An easy booking. Blake was slated for 25 to life, off a plea deal and being an informant about the Fang. Even that didn’t last long; someone higher up than anyone she’d ever heard of had her sentence terminated, and she was free to go, provided she kept up with the intel. This same “Ozpin” character had also said that he’d heard of her dueling, and invited her to participate in a large, international tournament. He’d even provided her with enough money to give her a fresh start in Vale. Blake couldn’t begin to fathom why, but knew better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

After thinking about it for a long time, she tucked the mask in her bag. She’d find a safe place to get rid of it later. She checked her disk and deck, making sure everything was in order, and took one last look at the room. The already barren room was stripped bare, all her things in the small duffel slung over her shoulder. She turned, and left the room, walking out of the building. She didn’t feel much, she was only here in hiding. Part of her debated running, home, but she shoved it aside. She couldn’t face her parents, not now.

She walked for a long time, enjoying the silence of the empty streets as she walked out in the wee hours of the morning. Nobody was out this early, nobody SHOULD be out this early. They really didn’t have a reason to. Which is why the sudden shout of “Belladonna!” caught Blake more off guard than was perhaps appropriate. She composed herself, and turned to the sound of the shout. The source of the voice was a man in a sleeveless grey jacket and black pants. He wore metal bracers on his arms, and his face was completely obscured by a white mask with red markings.

“Looks like the intel was right,” the large man continued, “the boss’ killer was here after all.”

“Captain Almost,” Blake said, turning to face him. “I’m not surprised te Fang sent you.”

“They want the traitor back,” Almost said, pulling his large, gunmetal disk off his back and strapping it to his arm. “I happen to as well.” He grasped the ripcord on top of the monstrous disk, pulling it several times before the engine roared to life. “You know this only ends one way, bitch.”

“I do,” Blake said, pulling her own disk off her back. She took the bladed cover off, revealing a thin, narrow blade that a duel disk was built into. The Fang initially built their disks out of actual weaponry due to them being cheap and easy to make, as well as bypassing Schnee firmware and allowing for Real Solid Vision whenever needed. After awhile, it became tradition, and even personalization to have a weapon disk, the trend even cracking the mainstream in some parts of the world, especially Menagerie where the Fang’s influence was still felt. Blake readied herself, and stared the Captain in the eyes.

“DUEL!” they both shouted into the empty streets, drawing their hands.

“The first move is mine,” Blake calmly said. “I normal summon Lunalight Blue Cat!” A blue-skinned woman with cat ears and a tail, wearing a blue and white frilled jumpsuit lept from the ether onto the battlefield.  _ Almost is strong, but he’s not very bright. I can probably bait him into setting up my victory for me.  _ “I set one card, and end my turn.”

“Heh, as pathetic as I expected from a deserter,” Almost said. “My turn!” he shouted, drawing a card. “I summon Bujin Yamato!” A light shined down, and out from it stepped a glowing, humanlike being, clad in maroon armour around its glowing body.

_ Bujin _ , Blake thought,  _ he hasn’t changed one bit. If pattern holds… _

“Bujin Yamato attacks Blue Cat!” Yamato wound back, and punched Blue Cat with enough force to obliterate it, sending fragments of it around Blake as she took 200 damage. 

_ Perfect _ , Blake thought. “I activate my trap! Lunalight Reincarnation Dance!” Her set trap revealed itself, and Blake managed a grin. “When a monster on my field is destroyed, I can add 2 Lunalight monsters from my deck to my hand. Further, Blue Cat’s effect activates, summoning a Lunalight from my deck when it’s destroyed. I add Lunalight Black Sheep and White Rabbit to my hand, and special summon Lunalight Purple Butterfly!” Another woman, this time purple coloured and with butterfly wings, appeared.

Almost scoffed. “During my end phase, Yamato’s effect activates. I add Bujingi Crane to my hand, and send Bujingi Hare to the graveyard. I end my turn.”

_ Everything is according to plan so far, _ Blake thought. “My turn!” She looked at her hand, and nodded slightly to herself. “I use the effect of Lunalight Black Sheep. By discarding it, I can add a certain spell from my deck to my hand. I add Polymerization to my hand!”

“Polymerization?” Almost said, with a chuckle. “You mean to tell me a traitorous bitch like you can  _ fusion _ summon? Even Adam Taurus couldn’t fusion summon.”

“I’m not him,” Blake said through gritted teeth. “I normal summon Lunalight White Rabbit! With its effect, it returns Black Sheep to the field!” A white-themed woman with rabbit ears and a black-themed one with sheep’s wool for hair appeared. “I activate Polymerization! By sending materials on my field to the graveyard, I perform a fusion summon! I fuse White Rabbit and Black Sheep!” The two monsters dissolved into light of their colours, and began swirling together. “ _ White Rabbit of mystery! Outcasted Black Sheep! Become bathed in the Moon’s light and form a union of power! Fusion Summon! Art becomes war, and war and art! Appear, Lunalight Cat Dancer!” _ A woman in a much more ornate black and teal dress, with scarves and ribbons, as well as a masquerade mask and feline ears to compliment her twin daggers appeared. 

“I don’t believe it,” Almost said. “You can actually do it.”

Blake took a momentary feeling of pride from the words. Fusion Summoning was the rarest, and in most people’s opinion most difficult to use, summoning form, so her mastery of it was a point of pride for her. “Lunalight Black Sheep’s effect activates. It adds a Lunalight from my graveyard to my hand,” she said, adding White Rabbit back to her hand. “Now, Cat Dancer’s effect! By sending Purple Butterfly to the graveyard, it can attack your monster twice this turn! Go, attack Bujin Yamato!  _ 40 Thieves’ Dance _ !” Cat Dancer lept into the air, being silhouetted in the moonlight, before beginning to fall down onto Yamato.

“Not so fast, traitor!” Almost said. “I use the effect of Bujingi Crane! By discarding it, Yamato’s ATK doubles until the end phase!” Yamato glowed, its now 3600 ATK dwarfing Cat Dancer’s 2400. It wound back, and had its fist meet Cat Dancer’s knives as she landed, the shockwave flowing outward.

“Cat Dancer cannot be destroyed by battle!” Blake shouted.

“But you’ll still take the damage,” Almost chuckled, as the shockwave knocked Blake to the ground, lowering her LP down to 2600. “You wanna do that second attack?” He laughed out loud, Blake grimacing at the sound.

“I end my turn.” She said, staring daggers into the man.

“I thought so. My turn! I normal summon Bujin Arasuda!” Another golden ray of light opened, and a similar looking blue armoured being walked out of it. Almost chuckled. “I take my two level 4 Bujin monsters, and overlay them!”

_ Here it comes _ , Blake thought.

“ _ Legendary Swordsman! Howl in fury, and be immortalized among the Gods of war! Xyz Summon! Bujintei Susanowo!”  _ A larger beam of light rained down, and out of it stepped a far larger armoured being, its armour maroon and black, with wings of light coming from its back and a large sword in each hand. “Bujintei Susanowo’s effect! By detatching one of its overlay units, I can either add a Bujin card to my hand, or send one to the graveyard. I send Bujingi Quilin to the graveyard!”

_ That also puts Yamato in his graveyard. Xyz monsters activate their effects by sending the monsters overlaid to make them. If my theory is correct, that means everything is going as planned.  _

“I use Quilin’s effect!” Almost continued. “By banishing it from my graveyard, I can destroy Cat Dancer!” A beam of light shot down, and Cat Dancer disintegrated under it. “Bujintei Susanowo, attack her directly!  _ Divine Wind Slash _ !” Susanowo brought its swords up, before crashing them both down, again knocking Blake to the ground, and reducing her to a mere 200 LP. “You’re barely scraping by. I wonder how you’ve lasted this long. It’s your turn.”

Blake stood up again, grunting in frustration at his tone. “My turn!” Blake looked at her draw, and smiled. “With this, it’s sealed. I activate Luna Light Perfume! I summon a Lunalight from my graveyard! Revive, Cat Dancer!” Cat Dancer reappeared, the small bells on its dress jingling as it did.

“So what?” Almost said. “It’s got the same ATK as Susanowo, you’d accomplish nothing.”

Blake smiled. “I activate the spell Lunalight Reverie Dance! I return Cat Dancer to the extra deck and discard one card, then special summon 2 Lunalight monsters from my deck! I discard Lunalight Crimson Fox, and special summon Lunalight Tiger and Lunalight Kaleido Chick!” A tigerstripe themed woman with cat ears and tail, and a younger, rainbow-themed girl with a beak appeared.”Lunalight Crimson Fox’s effect activates! Because it was sent to the graveyard by a card effect, Susanowo’s ATK becomes 0!” A red aura surrounded Susanowo, and it fell to its knee as its ATK hit 0. “Now, I tribute both Lunalights for a tribute summon!”

“You’re tribute summoning?” Almost asked, bewildered. “No wonder fusion summoning wasn’t mentioned in your file, it’s not how your ace is summoned!”

“ _ Dragon of dual destinies, descend upon this life, and obliterate all that stands in my way! Tribute Summon! Behold, Light and Darkness Dragon!” _ A titanic, winged dragon emerged, its scales split perfectly down the center of its body; its left side black with a scaly, flesh wing, and its right white and pure, with a feathered wing. “Battle! Light and Darkness Dragon, attack Susanowo!  _ Gambol Shroud! _ ” The dragon leapt into the air, before loosing a torrent of black and white energy at Susanowo.

“I use the effect of Bujingi Hare in my graveyard!” Almost shouted. “”I banish it to negate Susanowo’s destruction!”

“Light and Darkness Dragon’s effect!” Blake shouted. “Whenever a card or effect is activated, it loses 500 ATK and DEF, and that card is negated and destroyed!”

“What?” Almost shouted, before the blast obliterated Susanowo and he took the full brunt of Light and Darkness Dragon’s now 2300 ATK, dropping him to 1700 LP. “I’m still standing though,” he said, looking at her. “And I’ve got enough cards in my hand to activate that effect enough times to where I can kill you through it.” He raised his disk, the rotating chainsaw blade on its edge becoming apparent. “And then I get to watch you bleed.”

“The only thing you’re going to watch is your defeat,” Blake said. “I’ve seen you duel countless times, Almost. I know your game. Everything you did fell right into line, and now, everything is sealed with this! I activate the spell card Dual Destinies! I banish either a LIGHT or DARK monster from my graveyard, then I banish the other one from yours!”

“You’re dumber than I thought!” Almost said. “Light and Darkness Dragon will just negate that card!”

“It won’t because this card destroys Light and Darkness Dragon!” Blake shouted. “I banish Lunalight Black Sheep and Bujin Yamato, and destroy Light and Darkness Dragon!” A beam of violet light shot from Blake’s disk, and a golden one from Almost’s, the two beams colliding on Light and Darkness Dragon and obliterating it. 

“So now what?” Almost said. “That’s the most pointless card I’ve ever seen. You just destroyed your only chance of winning.”

Blake smiled slightly. “Light and Darkness Dragon’s other effect! When it’s destroyed, all cards I control are destroyed with it, and it summons any other monster in my graveyard!”

“ _ What? _ ” Almost cried, looking desperately at his hand for an answer that wasn’t there.

“Be reborn, Lunalight Crimson Fox!” A woman clad in a red jumpsuit, with fox ears and tail appeared. “Lunalight Crimson Fox has 1800 ATK. This ends it! Crimson Fox, attack directly!”

The fox lept forward, before slashing Almost with her claws, reducing his LP to 0 as he collapsed to the ground.

Blake turned around as he groaned. “We won’t stop… chasing you…”

Blake didn’t turn back, instead beginning to walk away without a word. 

“Finish me…” Almost said. “Finish me!” He screamed in desperation, knowing what fate awaited him for his failure. 

Blake continued her silence, walking along the street, and buying a small pasty on her way to the docks. She arrived just in time, the boat beginning to board. She paused, and pulled a thin black ribbon out of her coat pocket. She may be in the faunus capital of the world, but she was going to Vale, which most certainly was not. Especially not to a faunus with a marker. She tied the ribbon in a bow around her feline ears, and boarded the boat. She looked westward, towards the horizon. The best duelists in the world were waiting for her over there.

  
_ My future is too _ , Blake thought.  _ This event could change the world. A marked faunus duel Queen? _ She allowed herself a chuckle at the potential reactions. And if she had her way, they wouldn’t be potential for much longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Custom Cards Featured this Chapter:
> 
> Lunalight Reverie Dance  
> Quick-Play Spell Card  
> Target one "Lunalight" Fusion monster you control; Return it to the extra deck, and if you do, send one card in your hand to the graveyard, also special summon 2 "Lunalight" monsters from your deck.
> 
> Dual Destinies  
> Quick-Play Spell Card  
> If you control "Light and Darkness Dragon": Banish one LIGHT or DARK monster from your graveyard, and if you do, banish a monster from your opponent's graveyard of the opposite attribute, and if you do that, destroy all "Light and Darkness Dragon(s)" you control. This card is unaffected by "Light and Darkness Dragon"
> 
> Also, Captain Almost is the chainsaw dude from Vol 2's train scene. Almost is a reference to his internal name, which I'm using because he never got an official one. I just wanted to use an existing character, really.


	5. Old Friends, New Rivals! Road to the Beacon Cup!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby, quite literally, runs into new competition, while Yang meets with an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little later than I would've wanted, and the next one will be too, because it's finals week. Sorry!
> 
> Also, this is the first chapter with no duel. Weeee~

The Beacon Cup was one of the biggest events of the year, that was something everyone knew, regardless of where you were from. The event took youth duelists from around the planet, uniting them in Vale for a chance to showcase the next generation of pros or Duel Huntsmen, and the spectacle of these extremely talented young adults facing each other made Vale a tourist capital for its duration, bringing lots of money and faces to the city.

Never was this more apparent to Ruby than it had been on the  _ three hour _ drive from their home to the stadium, where they parked their bikes and made their way to the area within the stadium that was exclusive to participants, something of a backstage lounge. Considering they lived no more than twenty minutes from the stadium on an average day, Ruby was less than thrilled about having to make the return trip later that night. Ruby was so distracted by the prospect that she was startled when Yang slapped her back, grinning down at her younger sister.

“Alright sis, look alive!” Yang said, her tone vibrant as ever. “This is your first taste of pro dueling!”

“We’re not dueling ‘til later,” Ruby said, struggling to rub the now-stinging small of her back. 

“Ah, but this is just as important,” Yang said, “impressions! Like it or not, when we get to other people, they’re gonna look at you and form opinions on the spot. You get them talking about you, then back it up with your dueling, and you’ll be the Armoured Bee’s knees in no time, trust me.”

“I don’t  _ wanna _ be the ‘Armoured Bee’s knees’,” Ruby said, applying air quotes to Yang’s horrendous pun. “I just wanna be a normal girl, with normal knees, armour notwithstanding.”

Yang simply chuckled at the sentiment. “Well, I will leave you to figure that out for yourself. I have an old friend to catch up with.”

“What?” Ruby asked, but before she could react, Yang sped off in another direction, leaving her alone. She sighed, looking down at the ground before groaning. She probably should have expected this; Yang being the social creature she was, it wasn’t a surprise she knew someone among the participants. The question was,  _ who _ , Ruby thought to herself as she walked.

The Beacon Cup was an invitational event, and the slots were always standard. For starters, the Youth Champion from each of the 4 kingdoms are invited, though Vacuo has consistently declined to send a representative for reasons they aren’t very clear on. After that, the World Youth Tag pair that was crowned champion that year are also both invited, though classically they’ve never performed very well. A lottery is also conducted, and anyone who enters has a chance of bringing their deck to the cup. As one could imagine, they’ve never really done well. That leaves the last two members of the top 8 to be filled by wildcard candidates hand-picked by the Director, and knowing how eccentric Ozpin tended to be, those were entirely unpredictable. Ruby thought over the contestant list, and started to consider who Yang could be meeting with.

Yang herself was Vale’s Youth Champion, the King’s reign still going on here. Both Atlas’ champion and Mistral’s champions were first time challengers, so it’s likely they’re not on the list of potential Yang friends either. The other wildcard candidate was a convicted murderer from Menagerie, so Ruby  _ hoped _ it wasn’t her. She tried not to be judgemental, and firmly believed in second chances, but marks don’t lie. That left the tag pair, but Yang had said a solitary friend, and if reports about Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie were true(and they were, Ruby  _ might _ be a little bit of a fan), the two were thick as thieves and wouldn’t be separate. Which left… her. Well, her and- _ WHAM _

Ruby fell backwards from the impact as a sea of cards cascaded around her. She vaguely heard someone say something, before she came back into reality and saw a pair of sharp blue eyes were staring into hers, and a shrill voice shouted “I  _ said _ what do you think you’re doing?”

Ruby panicked, and scrambled to her feet before putting her hands up in front of her. A quick glance around her revealed what had happened; she was so lost in thought she hadn’t been paying attention, and had walked into this woman’s carraige full of cards, knocking many of them to the ground. She looked to the woman herself, and found herself looking at one of the other contestants, the finalist from Atlas. “Well?” The short woman responded, sounding quite angry.

“Aaaaah! I’m sorry!” Ruby said, leaning down to pick the cards up.

“These cards are all SDC originals meant to be distributed at this event!” The white haired girl shouted. “Do you even know who I am?”

“Weiss Schnee,” said a calm voice that snapped both of the girl’s gazes to the side. They saw the other wildcard participant, her long black hair and peculiar bow offset by the giant yellow mark across her face. “Heiress to the SDC and Atlas’ current champion.”

“You see,” Weiss said to Ruby, grinning, “Even a girl with a marker that large knows better than you do,  _ dolt _ .”

“So, heiress,” the wildcard continued, “are you here to try to win? To push cards? Or are you here because your  _ father _ told you to?”

Weiss’ smile faded, and she turned back to the wildcard. “Mind your tone, girl. I could make you disappear, and with a marker that large I doubt anyone’d care.”

“So the latter then, good to know where your loyalties lie,” the wildcard said unflinchingly, “to a megalomaniac responsible for more deaths last year than the White Fang.”

Weiss’ face got so red Ruby could barely tell it from her cloak. She looked as if she was going to retort again, but she spun on her heel, roughly grabbing her cart of cards and stomping away. Ruby made sure she was gone, before sighing.

“Thank-” she began, but she turned around, and the wildcard candidate was nowhere to be found, earning another sigh from Ruby.  _ Some first impression _ , she thought.

*****

After walking a good distance, Yang was sure Ruby hadn’t followed her. It’s not like she expected her to, the path she’d taken was winding and  _ very  _ out-of-the-way. Still, she wanted to make sure she had privacy. It’s not like she was doing anything she wasn’t supposed to, but if word got out about it, it’d be  _ another _ round of press, and after yesterday’s round after she’d revealed she’d be playing against her sister in the event, Yang was afraid she’d lose self control. She pulled out her new Scroll V4(Now with 4K video!), and went to her contacts, scrolling until she hit “Amazoness Queen” and hit ‘call’. After a few rings, the call was picked up, a smooth female voice on the other end.

“ _ Yang? _ ” the voice on the other end asked.

“What’s up red?” Yang said, leaning against the wall behind her. “You good to meet? The upper deck doesn’t fill for a good 2 hours, and we’ve got things to discuss.”

“ _ Indeed we do, _ ” the voice said. “ _ I’ll meet you there. Goodbye. _ ”

“See ya there,” Yang said, before ending the call and moving toward the stairs. Several flights later, she was standing at the railing of the Beacon Stadium’s upper deck, overlooking the center arena. There was the tower in the center where all the officials sat, as well as the technicians running the entire place. There was the station for the commentators, who looked to be setting up from Yang’s vantage point. There were numerous on-foot duel arenas, for people who couldn’t riding duel, which was over half of this year’s participants. Only three of the 8 could riding duel, meaning it was so unlikely for any to happen, and causing Yang to pout.

“Now, that’s no look for a King,” a familiar voice said, making Yang smile again.

“You should know,” Yang said, “You’ve wiped this one off my face more times than I can count, Queen.”

Yang turned to her, finally seeing Pyrrha Nikos in all her glory. Yang was tall and big; she was around 6 feet tall, and used to be a kickboxer, so she considered herself a big person, let alone a big woman. Yet, towering a full 6 inches over her was Pyrrha, somehow both monstrous and gorgeous, with her dark skin and emerald eyes. Her red hair was in a high tied ponytail, and she wore a long, flowing red dress. Yang checked, and Pyrrha still wasn’t wearing heels, infuriating her that she was so much smaller. “You seem a little overdressed,” Yang said.

“I’m not dueling for 4 days, Yang. I’m just here for the cameras,” Pyrrha said. “Plus, I believe it was you who told me about the importance of intimidation. I go down there in this, and they see someone dressed like this, that gives them an impression.”

“What?” Yang said, “The impression that you’re not the biggest creampuff on the planet?”

“What my opponents and the press don’t know won’t hurt them,” Pyrrha said, before laughing, Yang joining in.

“What do you think of them?” Yang said, leaning over the railing somewhat. “The other challengers?”

“Well,” Pyrrha said, thinking, “Ms. Schnee is strong, but there’s something to her. I don’t know why, but I watch her and I get this feeling that she needs help.”

“That rich kid?” Yang said, scoffing, “She doesn’t look it to me. Seems spoiled rotten.”

“Be careful of assumptions,” Pyrrha said. “You know we’re both rich too, Yang.”

“Yeah, but I worked for it, and you….” Yang said, before shaking her head. “Okay, I got nothing. Still, I dunno. Maybe I should look closer.”

“Anyway,” Pyrrha said, “The champion from Mistral is intriguing. He’s a faunus, and one with a marker at that. I can’t imagine he’ll be popular here.”

“C’mon, Red, this isn’t  _ Atlas _ ,” Yang said. 

“Still, he’s no stranger to criticism,” Pyrrha said. “He almost seems to revel in it. He’s definitely one to watch.”

“You worried about Nora and Ren?” Yang said. “I remember they gave us a tough time last year.”

“They’ve improved, that’s for sure. Ren’s even learned Pendulum Summoning.”

“That’s impressive,” Yang said, “especially since he never used his extra deck. I should have been watching the tag circuit. Maybe Ruby will know about it, she watches  _ everything _ .”

“Which brings us to the wildcards,” Pyrrha said. “The girl with the marker is mystifying. I couldn’t find anything bar her arrest records when I searched her name. She was convicted of  _ murder _ , Yang, but she was let out after less than 2 months.”

“Hey, false arrests happen,” Yang said. “Though she has to be good if Ozpin plucked her out of Menagerie.”

“The lottery winner is unimpressive,” Pyrrha said, attempting to move the conversation forward, “but I’m interested in him. He’s got 0 background, no formal duel education, yet his records indicate a handful of tournament wins. If he does well, he could break out and do well in the majors.”

“Aaaaaand you think he’s cute,” Yang said, grinning ear to ear. Pyrrha began sputtering in protest, and Yang laughed. “C’mon, you’re worse than me. Your face goes redder than your hair.”

Pyrrha covered her face with her hands in embarrassment, before lowering them and shaking her head. “Moving on,” she said in an unusually forceful tone, “that leaves just your sister. She’s gifted, for sure. To catch Ozpin’s eye at 16 isn’t easy, and after reviewing her records and footage, you can see it wasn’t a fluke. Her strength’s within striking distance, Yang. Of the ones I can look at, it’s either you, Weiss, or your sister winning it.”

“So me, got it,” Yang said, putting her hands behind her head. “This is it, Red. This is the year I take the crown back.”

“I think it’s best to let the chips fall where they may,” Pyrrha said, looking over the arena. “I really do wonder about Ms. Belladonna, though.”

“Me too,” Yang said, looking at her picture on the rotating promo billboard, before feeling a nudge from Pyrrha, and turning to a knowing grin. “Shut up,” she said, trying to lessen the red in her face. “She’s cute, okay? Cute and mysterious.”

Pyrrha laughed. “You are an interesting character, Yang Xiao Long.”

‘Yeah,” Yang said, “an interesting character that’s gonna kick your ass.” She held out her fist, and Pyrrha bumped it. “I gotta go back down, Ruby’s probably lost.”

“I should be down there after the opening ceremonies,” Pyrrha said.

“You’ve gotta speak?” Yang asked.

“No, they just want me there. I don’t know why.”

Yang narrowed her eyes. “We all know why.”

“I try not to think about it,” Pyrrha said with a chuckle. “Best of luck today, Yang.”

“Thanks,” Yang said. “See ya around.” She waved goodbye before returning to the stairs. As she descended, she went back through the contestant list, and found her mind dwelling on Blake Belladonna.  _ Focus, you gay idiot! _ Yang mentally shouted at herself.  _ What does she play? How did she get that mark? What kind of coffee does she-NO! _

  
Yang sighed, shaking her head. One way or another, this was going to be a Beacon Cup to remember.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've altered the sizes of some characters, to help them stand out amidst each other. Yang's quite a bit larger, as is Pyrrha, whereas Weiss is shorter than Ruby if she's not in heels. Most of the other characters are the same.


End file.
